The 2023-24 college basketball season is in full swing, with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament taking center stage. However, players and teams are still dealing with the challenges of the transfer portal, which opened on March 18. Several notable players have entered the transfer portal during the 2024 cycle, including Rollie Worster from Utah, AJ Storr from Wisconsin, Adou Thiero from Kentucky, and Eric Dailey from Oklahoma State.
One player to watch is Patrick McCaffery from Iowa, who has entered the transfer portal after starting 60 of 123 games for the Hawkeyes. McCaffery, son of head coach Fran McCaffery, has one year of eligibility remaining and averaged 8.9 points per game in the 2023-24 season. Meanwhile, Michael Ajayi, a standout forward from Pepperdine, has announced his transfer to Gonzaga after a successful season with the Waves.
Meechie Johnson, a guard from South Carolina, was the team’s leading scorer in their surprise NCAA tournament appearance in 2024. Johnson averaged 14.1 points per game and is now exploring his options in the transfer portal. Other notable players who have entered the portal include Ray Allen III from Rhode Island, Mike James from Louisville, and several players from Providence, Louisville, and Nebraska.
In addition to individual players, there are also teams affected by the transfer portal. Xavier has seen two forwards, Abou Ousmane and Saša Ciani, enter the portal after the end of the season. Meanwhile, Rodney Rice, who did not play for Virginia Tech beyond the first eight games of his freshman season, has transferred to Maryland to play closer to home.
Jameel Brown from Penn State, Connor Essegian from Wisconsin, and Andrej Stojaković from Stanford are among the players who have entered the transfer portal, looking for new opportunities in their college basketball careers. Dug McDaniel, a standout guard from Michigan, is another notable player who is exploring his options after the dismissal of head coach Juwan Howard following a challenging season for the Wolverines.
Devin Askew from Cal is looking to play at his fourth college program with two years of eligibility remaining after missing most of the past season due to a foot injury. With the transfer portal continuing to shape the landscape of college basketball, it will be interesting to see where these players end up and how their decisions impact the upcoming seasons.
